Life as they knew it was all soon to end, when the darkness arrived and began to descend.

Interview with Director/Producer Nick Baker and Tristan Klein

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

Thank you! We had been wanting to make an animation inspired by the journey of refugees for a few years. The start of 2016 really felt like an important time to explore this theme - we were especially motivated by the harrowing stories of Syrians fleeing their homeland and the many derogatory comments of now-President Donald Trump.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

Under Seek and Hide Productions, we've used the animated form to explore all sorts of themes in (what we hope!) is a highly-stylised and very unique way. You should watch this film to see our take on the refugee experience, family sacrifice and the walls we both literally and symbolically build.

The Wall - The protagonists reach "the tall, endless wall".

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

We have taken several personal and universal themes and used animation to explore these in (again - what we hope is..) a new, creative manner.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?

We always start with a simple idea (in this case - the refugee experience) and then spend quite literally months discussing how we can best tell this story with the tools available to us. We never want to tell a story in a literal way. So the script and the film always take all kinds of twists and turns.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

People are generally quite pensive after the film. We hope this is because they are reflecting on the themes and journey. A lot of people have said how relevant it is with Trump's wall now moving ahead.

The Wall - What would you sacrifice to keep your family safe?

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

We are mainly glad that people understand what we are saying through metaphor/abstraction and also excited that viewers want to see even more of the story.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

We hope it helps get our story out there so that more conversations can occur around these topics. We would love to see and hear those conversations to find out if there is more ground we can cover going forward in upcoming projects.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

We are hoping to secure funding to work on a longer version of The Wall. Any avenues to move forward with the this would be amazing.

The Wall - The film was influenced by refugee stories.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

We want people to think about the themes we explore and hopefully act. However they do this is fine with us!

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

What would you sacrifice to keep your family safe?

What are the key creatives developing or working on now?

We are currently working on a script for a feature version of this short. We are also having conversations about creating children's books so we can tell our stories to a younger audience.

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

Life as they knew it was all soon to end, when the darkness arrived and began to descend.

Length: 6 mins, 11 secs.

Director: Nick Baker and Tristan Klein

Producer: Nick Baker and Tristan Klein

Writer: Nick Baker

About the writer, director and producer:

Nick Baker and Tristan Klein have been making animated shorts with Seek and Hide Productions since 2012. They have enjoyed particular success at Tropfest - "Punctured" was awarded third place at Tropfest Australia 2013, "The Unlikely Maestro" won Tropfest New York 2013 and "Postcards to Ulay" was runner-up at Tropfest Australia 2016.